Abstract
Objectives The present study aimed to investigate the overall effect of quercetin on mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) proliferation and osteogenic differentiation in vitro. Materials and Methods BMSCs were treated with different concentrations of quercetin for 6 days. The effects of quercetin on cell proliferation were assessed at predetermined times using Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. The cells were then treated with quercetin, estrogen, or an estrogen receptor (ER) antagonist (which was also administered in the presence of quercetin or estrogen) for 7 or 21 days. The effects of quercetin on BMSC osteogenic differentiation were analyzed by an alkaline phosphatase (ALP) assay kit, Alizarin Red S staining (ARS), quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), and western blotting. Results The CCK-8 and ALP assays and ARS staining showed that quercetin significantly enhanced BMSC proliferation, ALP activity, and extracellular matrix production and mineralization, respectively. The qPCR results indicated that quercetin promoted osterix (OSX), runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2), and osteopontin (OPN) transcription in the presence of osteoinduction medium, and the western blotting results indicated that quercetin enhanced bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2), Smad1, Smad4, RUNX2, OSX, and OPN expression and Smad1 phosphorylation. Treatment with the ER inhibitor ICI182780 blocked the effects of quercetin. Conclusions Our data demonstrated that quercetin promotes BMSC proliferation and osteogenic differentiation. Quercetin enhances BMP signaling pathway activation and upregulates the expression of downstream genes, such as OSX, RUNX2, and OPN, via the ER.
Highlights
Mesenchymal stem cells are a class of cells that exist in multiple organs and retain the capacity for self-renewal and differentiation into multilineage tissues for life [1, 2]
We noted no significant differences in optical density (OD) between the 2.5 μM and 5 μM quercetin groups and the control group
bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) are regarded as seed cells for bone tissue engineering because of their great multidirectional differentiation ability and reproductive activity
Summary
Mesenchymal stem cells are a class of cells that exist in multiple organs and retain the capacity for self-renewal and differentiation into multilineage tissues for life [1, 2]. BMSCs reportedly give rise to osteogenic, chondrogenic, and adipogenic cells, which are widely present in the bone marrow and cancellous bone and play an important role in bone metabolism Due to these properties, BMSCs are a potential source of cells for cell and gene therapy experiments and are widely used in studies of bone regeneration [6, 7]. BMP binds heterodimeric receptors to activate Smad proteins, which transactivate osteoblastogenic genes either directly or via RUNX2/OSX [16, 17]. Previous studies have indicated that estrogen upregulates BMP2 expression and enhances BMP signaling pathway activation [10, 18]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
